


The Griffon

by CaraLea



Series: Rosewick [3]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Canon Compliant, Canonical Character Death, Character Death, F/M, Past Rape/Non-con, Rosewick - Freeform, Underage Rape/Non-con
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-08
Updated: 2017-08-08
Packaged: 2018-12-12 16:20:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11740707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaraLea/pseuds/CaraLea
Summary: After everything Ruby has been through, when she fell down into the underground of Mountain Glen, when her teammates forced her to talk about what she'd been through, everything so far in the tournament having gone wrong...can she face HIM?  Can she face the one who ruined her to begin with?Part 3 (and final part) of the 24 Hours series.





	The Griffon

**Author's Note:**

> After a full year of waiting, I finally decided the time was right to finish this! It's been a long year, and I have not had the mickey to write this until recently. But everyone who has commented has told me how much they liked the first two, and how much they looked forward to this. While the others took me ages to write, this one I managed in one day. I'm sure the quality isn't as good, and tbh I didn't do pretty much any editing. But I hope you like it anyway! Please feel free to review, whether you noticed something in my writing that's incorrect or you just want to tell me how you feel about it. Either way I'm excited to see the responses! Enjoy!

Ruby watched the dragon fly past in almost a trance. She felt the air of it as it blew past her, only a measly two meters from where she stood. It even had a noxious odor, although it was too few and too far to make her gag. Instead she was too busy paying attention to its wings. It was, in its own way, graceful, beautiful even. She wished she could believe it wouldn't do any real damage to her already battered school peers.

Absorbed as she was in the strangely majestic beast, Ruby didn't notice the griffons all around her until one landed not one meter away. She responded instinctively, her weapon glinting as she flashed and slashed, striking at the monster full force. Tired as she was after all she'd been through already that night, she didn't have enough in her to do any real damage at first. Yet once she'd made her first hit, she knew she could take the monster down.

In a few quick slashes, she'd gotten it. The beast froze for just a moment before it collapsed, fading away into smoke, leaving Ruby bent double trying to catch her breath.

It took her a moment of wheezing to realize she was not alone. She turned her head and stared, confusion at the sudden presence of her quiet, new companion before recognition hit her.

Neo took a picture with her phone, then looked at Ruby. There was no fear in those eyes, only a smirk. Neo winked.

…

From below deck, where he was operating the Atlesian airship, Roman felt his scroll vibrate with an incoming message. His satisfaction at having completely wiped out all of Ironwood's air force in one go, and then taken over his ground force  _in that same go_  faded away entirely at the image on his scroll screen.

It was a picture of a too familiar face, one he'd hoped would die before he ever had to see it again. Little Red.

"You can  _not_  be serious!" he growled to himself, shaking his head and grabbing his scroll. Even with the disgust he felt looking at this girl, he couldn't help but feel a bubble of excitement. Red had given him some of his best memories. Maybe he could milk some more out of it.

Either way he was needed to help Shaking his head, Roman turned to join Neo up top.

…

Ruby slashed and sliced, trying to catch even her evasive adversary's foot. Any hit would be better than no hit at all. But Neo was too fast for her, too swift. Ruby could not keep up.

She anchored her weapon into the ground, pointing at the sneering face. Ruby pulled her trigger, blasting two energy blasts straight into the girl's chest.

The image shattered, revealing a face she'd hoped to never see again in her lifetime. Before she could so much as cry out, Roman fired two shots that hit her directly in the stomach, sending her flying backwards.

Around her, the world tumbled as she rolled. Colors bled together, sound seemed to disappear. All she had was her grip on her weapon. Instinct took over. She lashed out with Crescent Rose, using all her strength. The blade pierced the side of the ship, abruptly changing her roll to a drag. She went at least another 20 meters before coming to a halt.

Ruby felt a violent urge to throw up, and not from her recent tumble. Of course Torchwick was  _here_. He had been on the ship all along. How could she have forgotten that  _this_  was the ship he'd been confined to?

A wail built in her chest, silence by the fear that took her breath out of her chest. Images of what Roman had done to her flashed in her mind. She couldn't catch her words, only could stare. This was the face that had starred in her every nightmare, the face that had crept up behind her whenever she looked in the mirror, or hugged her sister, or even when she closed her eyes. His voice tortured her ears from afar, his hands (warm despite his cold heart) which caressed her so carefully that it hurt. She didn't want to again feel his touch on her bottom, his fist in her hair. She didn't want to see the pure bliss on his face as he'd thrust into her, his wet cum dripping down her leg. She could still smell it after all this time.

She had only just gotten her life back together after all of this. Only last week passed her last psych evaluation put forth by her therapist and gotten her team into the tournament. It had been Blake's idea to talk to a counselor on campus, although it had risked her team being unable to fight. It had been vastly worth it. Finally she could sleep through the night again. Finally she could look at herself in the mirror and feel something other than disgust and shame.

Now here she was, looking her rapist in the eye all over again. It wasn't fair, really. Then again, life wasn't supposed to be fair.

She scrunched her eyes up, hoping that if she couldn't see him he wouldn't be there. His boots thumping heavily against the hull of the ship was a sharp reminder the contrary was true. There was no air in her lungs. She opened her eyes and gasped, looking up at his face six feet above her. His leg was so close to her face.

"Little Red, Little Red…" he mused, almost entertained by the look of fear in her eyes. "You are just  _determined_  to be the hero of Vale, aren't you?"

"What are you doing?" she asked against reason. "Without these ships the Grim will destroy everything!"

"That's the plan!" he laughed, raising his weapon. Her arm lashed out without her permission, throwing his shot off course a mere second before he fired. The heat of the blast blistered against her skin, but her aura surged to protect her.

She gripped her weapon as she pulled herself to her feet. This time, she would not let go of it.

Neo appeared out of nowhere, taking a flying leap. Ruby thought for one precious second that the multi-color- haired girl had overshot, missing her target and soaring past, but it was never that easy. Her foot snapped out, catching Ruby's cheek and sending her sprawling into the dusty side of the hull. Ruby managed to get to her feet in time for Neo to deliver a kick to her stomach. She didn't have time to recover as Neo finished off with a tornado kick straight to her chest.

At least she managed to stay on her feet this time, but only just barely. She turned, facing her foes with a startled look.

"But  _why_?" she asked, voice rising in pitch as her panic mounted. "What do you get out of it?"

Roman's eyes bored into her, venomous in their own right as they bit into her very spirit. "You're asking the wrong questions, Red," he answered her, voice as sharp as his gaze. "It's not what I have to  _gain_. It's that I can't afford to  _lose_."

 _What's wrong with you?_  she thought to herself.  _You're supposed to be a leader! Act like one!_

She charged, clutching her weapon tightly. As long as she had her weapon she could win, right?

Before she could strike him, Neo was there, leaping over his shoulder and kicking her away from her true target. Ruby switched tactics, now aiming for the ice-cream chick. As long as she had Crescent Rose, she could do anythi-

To her surprise, Neo hooked onto her weapon. She had no time to react, no time to stop it. Her opponent slipped under her, breaking her hold on her weapon and sending it flying away. Ruby lost all sense of direction as the girl kicked her, hard. She flew forward, only to have Roman's own weapon hit her in the face. Another shot from his weapon that sent her flying after her Crescent Rose.

At the last second her hand shot out, her fingers curling around her weapon which she clutched to for dear life. To her horror, her feet made no contact with the surface of the ship. Clinging desperately to her weapon, she was left dangling in midair over a heard of Grim.

"I may be a gambling man," Torchwick's voice came to her, surprisingly close. "But even  _I_  know there are some bets you  _just_   _don't take_."

Ruby looked up, not surprised to see Neo standing over her, holding her parasol at arms length like a sword. From it's tip came a long needle-like blade.

 _How has it come to this?_  Ruby asked herself.  _How could I let it get this far? Even_ with _my weapon, I can't stop him from doing what he wants. And now he's going to kill everyone._

His rant continued. "Like it or not, the people who hired me are going to change the world!"

A nevermore came up from underneath Ruby, headed directly for her. She lashed out, kicking at the beast with both her feet, just enough strength to send it away.

" _You_ can't stop 'em,  _I_  can't stop 'em," he said so close to her now. Her eyes went up and realization came over her. She couldn't use her weapon, but Ruby could still beat at least one of them.

"You know the old saying, if you can't beat 'em- "

Ruby waited no longer. She extended her arm, careful to avoid the blade, pressing her fingers on the button that clicked the umbrella open. With no more than a startled gasp, Neapolitan took flight, disappearing into the herd of Grim.

She pulled herself up onto the hull of the ship, by no means safe but definitely better off than dangling over the edge. " _ **Neo**_ _!_ " Roman yelled out for the silent fighter, obviously disgruntled by the experience. The look of horror on his face, swiftly turning to anger reminded Ruby of all the things she fought for. How could she ever have felt like giving up? She was stronger than him, stronger than all that he had done. Because despite everything that had happened between them, Roman Torchwick had not broken her spirit. She was Ruby Rose. She was a Huntress. She  _would not bow down_.

"I don't care what you say," she told him, feeling her strength returning to her. "We  _will_  stop them, and I  _will_  stop you.  _Bet on that!_ "

She flew at him feeling the strength of her aura boost her, sending her speeding forward in a flash of rose petals.

Fueled by his anger, Roman was ready. He fired a shot from his weapon, but before it could go further than the length of his arm away, he caught it with his hooked cane and threw it at Ruby. The force of it threw her back, but not far enough away. Ruby charged again, determined to defeat him once and for all. He struck, her with his cane, sending her back again, but still she wasn't down. No matter how many times he hurt her, she would never stop getting back up. As she ran at him again, his weapon pressed into her stomach and fired.

The searing pain she felt reminded her so horribly of how bad it felt when he shot her hand. She'd always have that scar to remind her how easy it is to be hurt without her aura to protect her, and now her aura was dangerously low. Still, it was strong enough to keep her alive in this instance.

"You got spirit, Red, but this is the  _real_  world!" he yelled, smacking his cane hard into her. "The real world is  _cold!_  The real world doesn't care about  _spirit_." He leaned down so his face was next to hers, his breath choking her lungs. "But I'm not gonna kill you yet," he breathed. "I'm gonna teach you how the real world treats little girls like you, who think they can do anything they want if they want it badly enough. I'm gonna make you regret the day we met. And then I'll kill you, like every other Huntsman in history."

Ruby shuddered against her self. He meant those words, she knew. More than anyone Ruby knew what he could do to her to break her. She knew in what ways he would hurt her, if given the chance.

His feet thumped around her, in her line of vision. She looked up. Roman was standing over her, looking smug. "As for me, I'll go on doing what I do best." He waved his arm, as if counting the things off. "Lie, steal, cheat, and  _survive!_ "

The word had barely left his mouth when it happened. Too focused were they on each other than Ruby didn't even see the griffon until it had gulped Torchwick straight up, swallowing him whole.

She didn't have time to celebrate her biggest enemy's death though. The creature was after her next. It reared up on its hind legs, roaring loud enough to make her slip backwards. But after all that she had been through, facing the griffon was nothing in comparison. She raced towards it, relief and strange energy filling her.

At the last second (and maybe copying from Neo's unusual tactics herself) Ruby jumped, kicking the beast in the head that threw it backwards. She landed on her feet, hearing the crunch of broken glass and the roar of flames. She must have sent it into the engine.

 _Uh oh_ , she thought as the ship wobbled. Without something to power it, the ship was going to fall.  _What do I do now?_

Her eyes fell on her weapon, all the way across the ship from her. It was her only chance.

Racing against the failing ship, she burst forward with speed unlike that of her semblance. Confidence, a near giddiness, (spirit?) gave her the strength this time. Around her, the ship began to explode, falling apart as gravity and the excessive damage took over.

She gripped her weapon handle and leaped into the night. It was exhilarating as the wind tossed her hair around. The sensation of free-fall had barely set in when she pointed her weapon straight down and fired. The moment from the recoil threw her higher into the air. If she kept up this process, she could fall safely to the ground and not take anymore damage to her aura.

Finally her feet touched the ground, just at the same time as the ship. She could feel the heat of its final explosion on her back. She whirled around, looking around at all the Grim flying everywhere, not to mention the massive dragon Grim currently at Beacon tower. But she couldn't help the feeling that came to her then. A huge weight seemed to be lifted off her shoulders, a huge knot removed from her stomach. It was incredible.

But she couldn't stay and celebrate her victory over her torturer. The school was under attack, she had to find her teammates as she had no idea where they were, and honestly, with her energy she could probably help a lot of people. It wasn't going to be easy, but Ruby was up to it. The time to move on had finally come. Her closure had finally happened.

Ruby was free at last.


End file.
